Tourists in Costa Rica Entitled to Use Photocopies of Own Passports

Tourists traveling to Costa Rica will be allowed to flash photocopies of their own passports to prevent them from losing the original documents, local authorities informed this week.

The action was taken in an effort to make the more than 1.5 million foreign visitors that trek to country every year feel safer and more secured.

Costa Rican Security Minister Rogelio Ramos noted the theft of personal documents comprises the largest chunk of all crimes committed in the Central American country.

Local authorities are now urging tourists to simply show copies of the passports and keep the original documents locked up in the hotels’ safety boxes.

The U.S. embassy in San Jose informed this week that as many as 236 American citizens have had their passports stolen so far this year in Costa Rica.